Parliament erupted into a furious row before the walkout as opposition lawmakers who control one-third of the 222-seat house protested against the Speaker’s decision to deny Gobind an opportunity to defend himself.

“How do you proceed to condemn a person without giving him the opportunity even to speak?” said opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim who leads the three-member Pakatan Rakyat opposition alliance.

Gobind, a first-term MP, was suspended from parliament for one day last week after calling Najib a “murderer” during a heated parliamentary debate.

“I will continue my constituency work, keep the fight outside and come back in one year,” he told reporters after the suspension.

Najib was last year forced to deny having an affair with 28-year-old Mongolian woman Altantuya Shaariibuu, who was murdered in 2006. Her remains were blown up with military-grade explosives in a jungle clearing.

Mohamad Nazri Abdul Aziz, the minister in charge of legal affairs, tabled the motion against Gobind, saying he had abused parliamentary immunity and his privileges as a lawmaker.

He denied that the move showed Najib — who is expected to be appointed prime minister later this month — was not able to tolerate criticism.

“What if I call your mother a prostitute in the name of freedom of expression? I said she is a prostitute and I had her for two nights, is that fair?” Nazri told a press conference.

“(Gobind) is not just accusing a MP but the deputy premier for a hideous crime. He must be punished for the severity of the his allegation against the deputy premier,” he said.

Najib’s wife Rosmah Mansor, who was herself linked to the crime by a prominent blogger who was slapped with sedition and defamation charges over the allegations, told AFP recently she was “shocked” by the political smears.

Najib’s close adviser, who admitted having a relationship with Altantuya, was charged with abetting her murder but later acquitted.

Two policemen from an elite unit that guards the prime minister and deputy prime minister are accused of carrying out the grisly slaying and are currently on trial.